Miki Lagers is a competent and well-rounded sales expert with 20 years of experience defining and optimizing commercial skills in various occupational areas. He has displayed the ability to combine an excellent sales strategy with the capability of knowledge of the human nature of different cultures. He joined the more than-century-old Netherlands-based Gouda Refractories as Sales Manager in April 2022.

His ability to work collegially with team members and leaders across business units and lines of business drives and promotes organizational change whilst embedding governance principles to move the organization up the functional excellence curve.

AL Circle: Can you provide a brief overview of Gouda Refractories and its role in the secondary aluminium industry?

Miki Lagers: Gouda Refractories is a worldwide reference in the field of secondary aluminium. Gouda Refractories seamlessly matches the design and the choice of materials to the specific needs of the industry and process. This is the result of years of development based on specific knowledge of the design process, the operational parameters, and the installation and use of refractory systems.

The long history of Gouda Refractories goes back over a hundred twenty years, to 1901. This long period underlines the added value of Gouda Refractories' products and services. Numerous customers throughout the world rely on our unique combination of problem-solving ability and practical experience of the advanced R&D and production departments for the design and production of refractory linings. Apart from refractory bricks, refractory monolithics, mortars and precast shapes, Gouda Refractories mainly manufactures and delivers customer-specific total solutions for aluminium melting and holding furnaces.

Gouda Refractories' AK 85 MP-brick and its ALU-CAST range of castables have proven to be excellent materials for all types of applications in the secondary aluminium industry throughout the years.

For the secondary process of making specific aluminium alloys and remelting aluminium (aluminium recycling included), Gouda Refractories delivers tailor-made refractory linings for furnaces used by aluminium producers and producers of half-finished products and end products.

AL Circle: What are the key challenges the secondary aluminium industry faces regarding refractories? How do Gouda Refractories address these challenges and provide solutions for the aluminium recycling sector?

Miki Lagers: Although the process conditions in an integrated aluminium plant are not so severe with respect to high temperatures, specially developed refractories must be used with specific properties in order to withstand process conditions such as temperature-fluctuation, chemical impact and, specifically for recycling furnaces, the mechanical impact.

These refractories must be tailor-made to meet the process conditions and obtain the best value in use. As one of the leading global suppliers of refractory solutions for the aluminium industry, Gouda Refractories has developed over the last four decades vast expertise in the engineering, the manufacturing (of bricks, monoliths and precast shapes) and the installation of refractory linings applied in Aluminium Melting and Holding Furnaces.

AL Circle: Could you highlight some refractory products specifically designed for the secondary aluminium industry? How do these products contribute to the overall efficiency and sustainability of the recycling process?

Miki Lagers: The low-porosity, phosphate-bonded bricks LP 60 MP and AK 85 MP are high-fired bricks specially developed for heavy-duty melting furnaces. These non-wetting brick grades have excellent resistance against liquid aluminium, thermal shock and erosion abrasion due to scrap loading and electromagnetic stirring.

In addition to its brick range, Gouda Refractories has a wide range of monolithic specially developed for aluminium melting and holding furnaces. The Low Cement Castable range of products is named ALU-CAST, and the No Cement Castable range is named SOLID.

In its precast fabrication facility, Gouda Refractories can manufacture a wide range of precast shapes from its castable range. These shapes can be delivered dried and/or burned above operation temperature if so required.

For each refractory part in the furnace, Gouda Refractories can supply a refractory grade that is specially developed for the specific demands in that section of the furnace.

AL Circle: In what ways does Gouda Refractories prioritize sustainability and environmental considerations in developing and producing its refractory solutions?

Miki Lagers: We are committed to implementing sustainable business practices to minimize our ecological footprint. This includes reducing energy and water consumption, limiting waste production and promoting recycling. Through continuous investment in research and development, we aim to find innovative solutions that benefit both our customers and the environment.

Sustainability and the environment are considered from the earliest stage of product development. Over the last 5 years, Gouda Refractories has developed internal recycling processes to remove spilled or rejected raw materials and/or end products. All other spilled or rejected raw materials and/or end products are recycled internally. Spend refractory material is re-used in lower-grade castables and bricks. Our refractory designs focus on the longest possible lifetime and achieving an energy-efficient furnace operation.

Ongoing investments to reduce the CO₂ footprint of the refractory manufacturing process will be speed up and increased. We aim to achieve a reduction of ~50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, which puts us at the level that is expected within the European Union. Our goal is to be a frontrunner in our industry and – as a trustworthy partner – to assist our customers in achieving their ESG targets.

AL Circle: Can you explain the importance of quality and durability in refractory materials used in aluminium recycling? How do Gouda Refractories ensure the high quality and longevity of its products?

Miki Lagers: Now more than ever, refractory materials for the lining of aluminium melting and/or holding furnaces should be carefully selected. The choice of refractory materials greatly depends on the operational circumstances of each part of the furnace, which affects the refractory materials. Therefore, intensive dialogue between the refractory engineer and the furnace operator is essential, and post-mortem research can help make improvements.

AL Circle: Looking towards the future, what trends or developments do you foresee in the secondary aluminium industry, and how are Gouda Refractories positioned to meet those challenges and opportunities?

Miki Lagers: As the aluminium industry evolves, furnace operations require more flexibility because of a wider variety of alloys processed and increased aluminium recycling combined with higher production stresses. Consequently, refractory linings are subject to more extreme circumstances than in the past.

Based on the literature, research on refractory and practical experience, Gouda Refractories has a philosophy on the refractory material to be used in the aluminium furnaces. By intelligence in the selection of raw materials (type of material and grain size) and specific process control, a refractory lining can be developed that withstands the demands that are put by the furnace process.

AL Circle: Are there any success stories or case studies where Gouda Refractories' refractory solutions have significantly impacted the secondary aluminium process? Could you share one such example?

Miki Lagers: Gouda Refractories has a comprehensive global reference list of success stories we are very proud of. We have built a worldwide reputation for the reliability of refractory materials, design and installation for melting and holding furnaces. This demands highly qualified, dedicated and committed people with a second nature to continuously improve materials, design and workmanship to bring excellence to our customers.